The popularity of tea-based beverages has increased as the health benefits of antioxidants and other compounds in green and black teas have become known. Beverages that combine milk with tea have the added health benefits associated with milk's protein and calcium. One example of a popular beverage combining tea and milk is chai tea, which combines black tea, milk, water, and spices such as ginger, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and mace.
For the convenience of the consumer, it would be desirable to provide a bottled or canned ready-to-drink beverage that combines tea and milk. However, a problem arises in the compatibility of the tea and milk components. Specifically, acidic components of tea reduce the pH of an aqueous solution containing tea extract, and when this low pH aqueous solution is mixed with a solution containing milk protein, denaturation and precipitation of the milk protein can occur. There is therefore a need for a method of producing a milk-tea beverage that allows the tea component and the milk components to be mixed without causing denaturation and precipitation of milk protein.